WTA World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will face Nick Kyrgios in an exhibition match in Dubai on December 28, labelled as the fourth edition of the "Battle of the Sexes", a series of exhibition matches between a male and female elite tennis player that previously featured Billie Jean King, Bobby Riggs, Margaret Court, Jimmy Connors and Martina Navratilova.
Speaking in an interview with Piers Morgan, Sabalenka was asked about her opinion on the participation of transgender women in the women's sport, which is something allowed by the WTA as long as have lowered their testosterone levels, submit to testing procedures and have declared themselves as female for at least four years.
"That's a tricky question. I have nothing against them. But I feel like they still got a huge advantage over the women and I think it's not fair on women to face basically biological men", said the Belarusian player, adding that "it's not fair to a woman who has been working her whole life to reach her limit and then she has to face a man, who is biologically much stronger, so for me I don't agree with this kind of stuff in sport."
<social>https://x.com/PiersUncensored/status/1998437888996888645</social>
Her views were echoed by Nick Kyrgios, who agreed with Sabalenka in the interview. This topic has led to different policies regarding the inclusion or exclusion of transgender athletes and has also divided players in the sport. Billie Jean King, winner of 12 singles Grand Slam who won the original "battle of the sexes" in 1973, claim that excluding transgender from women's sport is discriminating.
Meanwhile, Martina Navratilova, winner of 18 singles Grand Slams and a combined 59 majors including doubles and mixed doubles, and famous for her advocacy for women's rights and LGBTQ+ rights, has said that trans women in women's sports is "cheating" due to physical advantages that the transition process does not fully remove.
What do you think on the debate on the inclusion of trans athletes in women's sports?